Means for nailing window frame jamb assemblies



May 17, 1960 J. M. CHAFIN ETAL MEANS FOR NAILING WINDOW FRAME JAMB ASSEMBLIES 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

Filed Jan. 9, 1958 INVENTORS JAMES M. C'IMFIN, JOHN G. WRIGHT 6 B 660/766 McL'LVlQW WYNIV ATTORNEYS May 17, 1960 J. M. CHAFIN ET AL v2,936,457

MEANS FOR NAILING wmnow FRAME JAMB ASSEMBLIES Filed Jan. 9, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 q) r v li/IEANS FOR NAILING WINDOW FRAME SAME ASEMBLIES James M. Chafin, John G. Wright, and George McElveen Wynn, Atlanta, Ga., assignors to The Autu Saicr (Zompany, a corporation of Georgia Application January 9, 1953, Serial No. 707,922

4 Claims. (Cl. 1-149) This invention relates generally to mechanized nailing operations, and more particularly to such operations in which at least one member is to be attached at an edge of a base member by nailing through the first member edgewise into the base member.

An example of a nailing operation of this sort which may be carried out to exceptional advantage according to the present invention is the formation of window frame jamb assemblies in which a jamb piece must have blind stop and outside casing members or the like attached at an edge thereof. Such jamb assemblies are commonly formed by hand, the several pieces of the assembly being arranged and nailed manually. Beyond the fact that an assembly procedure of this sort is costly from the standpoint of the labor involved, it also has the substantial disadvantage of requiring skilled labor and of even then involving very considerable difliculties in obtaining consistent production results satisfactorily free of such defects as hammer marks, nail runouts, and the like.

According to the present invention the foregoing disadvantages and diificulties are eliminated entirely by employing a nailing mechanism of the type disclosed in copending application Serial No. 591,680, filed June 15, 1956, equipped uniquely for carrying out an edge nailing operation such as is described above. Briefly described, the nailing mechanism disclosed by the above noted copending application incorporates an operating head for inserting nails and a work support for positioning material at the operating head to have nails inserted therein. This work support is further arranged in accordance with the present invention to carry jigging means for positioning and bracing the members to be nailed, together with means for clamping laterally against this jigging means the base member in which nails are to be inserted edgewise so as to prevent defective nailing therein, as well as to maintain the members being assembled in proper relation for nailing.

The present invention is described in further detail below in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective illustration of a nailing mechanism arranged in accordance with the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation detail, partly in section, illustrating further the arrangement of the work supporting structure according to the present invention.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the nailing mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises generally a fastener forming and inserting machine incorporating a suitable frame structure arranged to support an operating head 12 above a work supporting means 14 so that a continuous length of wire (not shown) may be fed through the operating head 12 to have successive fasteners formed therefrom by a fastener forming assembly at 16 and then inserted from the assembly 16 into work carried by the supporting means 14 as the nailingmechanism is cyclically operated, all as described at length in the above noted copending application.

atent are The work supporting means 14 is arranged in the general manner disclosed by US. Patent No. 2,571,984, having a supporting arm structure 18 therefor assembled slidably on a vertical guide column 20, carried by the frame structure 10. The vertical guide column 20 is fitted with a rack 22, and the arm structure 18 is equipped for vertical adjustment along the guide column through a geared relation With the rack 22, as disclosed in detail and claimed in the above noted prior Patent No. 2,571,984.

The supporting arm structure 18 extends from the guide column 20 to carry a work support 24 at its extending end, the work support 24 being fitted with a depending shank 26 that is received slidably within a bushing 28 on the arm structure 18. A positioning sleeve 30 is also spaced on the arm structure 18 adjacent the bushing 28 for slidably receiving an aligning dowel member 32 extending downwardly from the work support 24. The work support 24 is further stabilized and aligned by guide bar members 34 attached at the underside thereof and extending to a slidable disposition at each side of the vertical guide column 20.

The arm structure 18 is additionally arranged to provide for actuating the Work support 24 to shift in work supporting direction during each fastener inserting operation of the nailing mechanism so as to grip and hold work in place thereon against the operating head 12 as each fastener is inserted. For this purpose, the supporting arm structure 18 has a pivot shaft 36 journalled thereon from which a lever member 38 extends to a bearing disposition at the lower end of the work support shank 26. The pivot shaft 36 is also fitted with a rock arm 49 that reaches to an operating rod 42 for assembly with a fitting 44 thereat to receive the biasing pressure of a spring 46 confined by a block member 48 fixed on the operating rod 42 to bear yieldably at the rock arm fitting 44 which is arranged to be freely movable lengthwise of the operating rod 42. The operating rod 42 is in turn arranged, as disclosed in both the above noted copending application and the prior Patent No. 2,571,984 referred to above, so that it is depressed downwardly during each fastener inserting operation of the nailing mechanism and thereby acts through the spring 46 on the rock arm 4% to cause a lifting action by the lever member 38 at the Work support shank 26 to shift the work support 24 in the manner mentioned above.

In order further to provide effectively for edgewise insertion of fasteners in work being handled on the work support 24 in accordance with the present invention, a jigging means Sil is arranged on work support 24, as illustrated in Fig. 1 and indicated further in Fig. 2, the particular arrangement shown being adapted for the nailing of a Window frame jamb assembly comprising a jamb piece I, a blind stop B and an outside casing member C that are to be assembled by means of nails or fasteners as indicated at F in Fig. 2. The jigging means 50 suitably comprises a rail member 52 secured transversely on the Work support 24 and extending sufficiently at each side thereof for adequate lengthwise support of the work being handled, and an upright back plate 54 secured by back braces 56 on the work support 24 along the back edge of rail member 52, normally in a lesser length and with mounting apertures 58 spaced along the length thereof for attachment of suitable work positioning fixtures as indicated at 60 and 62.

As thus arranged, the rail member 52 and back plate 54 comprises means for positioning the jamb piece], or other work piece that must be handled similarly, to stand edgewise on the work support 24 at the operating head 12, and the positioning fixtures 6B and 62 on the back plate 54 provide for locating the blind stop and outside casing members B and C in proper superimposed relation on the jamb piece J. The positioning fixtures 60 are suitably arranged, as indicated in Fig. 2, to serve as locating means spaced at the back of the superimposed members B and C throughout the nailing required to complete the assembly thereof, while a fixture such as is illustrated at 62 in Fig. 1 is provided for establishing initially the proper endwise relation of the members being nailed. Preferably, an end positioning fixture 62 of this sort is pivotally arranged on the back plate 54, for shifting readily to an inactive position after the initial fastener inserting operation so as to be out of the way as the initially secured work is then moved along the rail member 52 to complete the nailing thereof.

In addition to the shifting of the Work support 24 in Work supporting direction to grip and hold the work at the operating head 12 during the insertion of each fastener F as previously noted above, means is also provided according to the present invention for simultaneously clamping the jamb piece I laterally against the back plate 54 so as to carry out the edgewise nailing effectively therein. The means provided for this purpose comprises a pressure plate 64 swiveled universally at 66 and 68 on a positioning arm 70 carried for extensible adjustment at the upper end of a supporting rod 72 that is mounted for vertical adjustment in a clamping bracket 74 pivoted at 76 on a supporting yoke 78 attached at the underside of work support 24, the work support 24 having an elongated slot formed therein, as indicated by the broken lines at 24' in Fig. 2, to provide clearance for relative operating movement thereat of the supporting rod 22 through which lateral clamping pressure is applied at the pressure plate 64. The pivoted clamping bracket 74 is further arranged with a connecting rod 80 extending therefrom to a lever bracket 82 that is mounted on the rock arm 40 through which the work support lifting lever 38 is actuated. The connecting rod 80 has a fitting 84 fixed thereon at one side of the lever bracket 82 for normal positioning thereby, while carrying a spring 86 at the other side of lever bracket 82 for transmitting clamping pressure yieldably therefrom to the pressure plate 64.

The effect of this simultaneous lateral clamping pressure applied through the pressure plate 64 is not only to insure that the edgewise standing jamb piece I is held securely during each fastener inserting operation, but also to eliminate the possibility of the fasteners running out and spoiling the jamb piece I as they are inserted edgewise therein. The illustration of the inserted fastener at F in Fig. 2 shows the inserted position it normally assumes, but particular conditions of the work being nailed, such as the grain arrangement and character, either locally or generally, often introduces a tendency toward crooked driving of the fasteners to a position such as is indicated in dotted lines at F in Fig. 2.

The laterally clamped arrangement of the jamb piece J, however, presents the confining surface of the back plate 54 at one face thereof and that of the pressure plate 64 at the other, so that any crooked driving of a fastener such as at F is met by the back and pressure plates 54 and 64 at any point of attempted runout to turn the driving point of the fastener back into the Work piece without allowing a damaging surface defect and while still providing the fastener with an effective securing disposition. For serving this fastener confining purpose to the best advantage, the back and pressure plates 54 and 64 are preferably formed of hardened steel and provided with smooth clamping faces. The pressure plate 64 should be proportioned in size for clamping a sufliciently substantial area of the work piece ad- "jacent the edge in which the nailing is being done to cover effectively the possible range for runouts, and is -of course positioned on the arm 70 and supporting rod 72 in alignment with the position at which the fastener inserting operation occurs. Otherwise, the pressure plate I 64 has any desired size and disposition, although the illustrated arrangement is advantageously adjustable for effective service in a wide range of operating conditions.

In operation, assuming a jamb assembly is to be nailed according to the present invention as previously mentioned, a jamb piece I is first placed on the rail member 52 standing uprightly against the back plate 54 and located endwise by the positioning fixture 62. which Will have been initially pivoted to an active position for this purpose as seen in Fig. 1. A blind stop B is then superimposed at the top edge of the jamb piece I and positioned across the top edge of the back plate 54 against the positioning fixtures 60 for proper lengthwise location, while also being located in endwise relation to the jamb piece I at the positioning fixture 62. Essentially the same step is repeated in placing an outside casing member C on top of the blind stop B and similarly locating it lengthwise and endwise at the positioning fixtures 60 and 62. At this stage the jamb assembly is ready to have the first securing fastener F inserted therein, which is done by actuating a cyclic operation of the operating head 12, in preparation for and during which actuation the operator may readily hold the work pieces at their located positions, while the jamb piece I and blind stop B are clamped by the pressure plate 64 to provide for effective and consistent edgewise insertion of the fasteners F therein as previously noted above. Following this first fastener insertion in the jamb assembly, the positioning fixture 62 is pivoted to its retracted inactive position so that the assembly can then he slid intermittently by the operator along the rail member 52 to have further fasteners inserted therein at suitable intervals to complete the assembly nailing in a particularly rapid and efiicient manner.

The present invention has been described in detail above for purposes of illustration only and is not intended to be limited by this description or otherwise except as defined in the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1. Means for attaching at least one member to a base member by nailing through said first mentioned member edgewise into said base member, said means comprising a nailing mechanism incorporating a stationary operating head for inserting nails and a work support for positioning said members at said operating head to have nails inserted therein, jigging means on said work support for positioning said members at said operating head, and means for clamping said members in the direction of nail insertion and associated means for simultaneously clamping at least said base member laterally against said jigging means in alignment with the point of nail insertion and over a substantial side face area thereat.

2. Means for forming window frame jamb assemblies and the like by nailing blind stop and outside casing members at as edge of a jamb piece, said means comprising a nailing mechanism incorporating a stationary operating head for inserting nails and a work support for positioning material at said operating head to have nails inserted therein, jigging means on said work support for positioning said jamb piece to stand edgewise and for locating said blind stop and outside casing members in proper superimposedrelation thereon, means for clamping said jamb piece edgewise with said blind stop and outside casing members between said work support and operating head, and means associated with said last mentioned means for simultaneously clamping at least said jamb piece laterally against said jigging means at the point of nail insertion.

3. A 'work supporting mechanism for fastener inserting machines and the like, said mechanism comprising a work support mounted for shifting in work supporting direction during fastener insertion, jigging means on said Work support'for positioning a work piece to stand edgewise for insertion of fasteners at an edge thereof, a

pressure plate mounted on said work support for shifting laterally to clamp said work piece against said jigging means, said pressure plate being disposed for clamping said work piece adjacent the edge thereof in which fasteners are to be inserted and in alignment with the point of each fastener insertion, and means causing simultaneous lateral shifting of said pressure plate to clamp said work piece laterally upon each shifting of said work support in said work supporting direction.

4. In a fastener forming and inserting machine having an operating rod vertically displaced during each fastener inserting operation, a work support mounted on said machine for shifting in work supporting direction during fastener inserting operations, jigging means on said work support for positioning a work piece to stand edgewise for insertion of fasteners at an edge thereof, a pressure plate mounted on said work support for shifting laterally to clamp said work piece against said jigging means, said pressure plate being disposed for clamping said work each fastener insertion, a lever arm structure fulcrumed on said machine with one end disposed for applying pressure to shift said work support in said work supporting direction and the other end yieldably connected for displacement with said operating rod to cause application of said pressure during each fastener inserting operation, and means connecting said lever arm structure for causing simultaneous lateral shifting of said pressure plate to clamp said work piece laterally upon each shifting of said work support in said work supporting direction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 195,696 Brandon Oct. 2, 1877 1,647,365 Kalgren Nov. 1, 1927 2,571,984 Wright Nov. 1, 1927 2,830,296 Guerrant Apr. 15, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 469,305 Great Britain July 22, 1937 

